Happy Valley star, James Norton, managed to raise £132,000 for a charity close to his heart when he completed the London Marathon on the weekend in an impressive four hours and 29 minutes
James Norton has been praised for running his first London Marathon following a life-changing diagnosis. The Happy Valley star, 40, clocked up an impressive time of four hours and 29 minutes and raised thousands for charity in the process.
The actor raised £132,000 for diabetes charity, Breakthrough TD1, after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 18 years ago. James, whose mum and sister also have diabetes, modestly said he’d only “just” completed the race after proudly sharing a snap of himself with his medal, glucose monitor and insulin pump in view.
Type 1 diabetes is a condition where the body cannot make insulin. Insulin helps the body use glucose (sugar) for energy. Without insulin the level of glucose in the blood becomes too high, and, therefore, if you have type 1 diabetes, you’ll need to take insulin every day to manage your blood glucose levels, states the NHS.
Before the race, which saw a whole host of famous faces pounding the pavements in London, James admitted that running 26 miles seemed like a “crazy idea”. However, he completed it with an impressive time and proudly posted a snap of himself post-race on Instagram.
Revealing his G7 glucose monitor and Omnipod insulin pump stuck to his arm, which James wears 24 hours a day, the Mr Jones star grinned after completing his first London Marathon.
He also shared a snap of himself and his parents as well as one adorable shot of a little girl called Emma, 6, who also has type 1 diabetes and who seemed very impressed with James’ medal.
Captioning his photos, James, who revealed he also had a chest infection while running the race, wrote: “Did it. Just.
“Had a chest infection which made it pretty gruelling, but the incredible support from the crowds carried me to the finish line. So much love and sweat and tears. A mad and beautiful experience. @londonmarathon.
“Mostly though, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated to my @justgiving page to raise funds for @breakthrought1duk. With the additional support from the v generous @bukhmanfoundation, right now we are at a total of £132,000 and counting.
“This money will go towards supporting young diabetics across the county, but also each pound raised gets us closer to the cure that all of us Type 1 Diabetics so desperately want, including my mum, my sister and this brave little girl in the above photo called Emma, who is six years old, but was diagnosed when she was only two.”
Thanking the companies that make his glucose monitor and insulin pump, he signed off: “Thanks also to the tech that got me safely to the finish line. I wear a @dexcomukie G7 monitor and an @omnipod 5 pump 24 hours a day (the devices stuck to my arm in above photo) but they were especially important during the marathon, keeping my glucose levels in range and therefore keeping me safe.
“Love to all my fellow T1D warriors out there. We got this xxx.”
Praising his post, many of the star’s followers congratulated him, with one thanking James for bringing “incredible awareness” to the diabetic community.
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